From Waco

Having not grown up listening to Bob Marley, I feel like I’ve missed out an awful lot. I have been making up for lost time though. He has been my theme music this semester, guiding me to some of the best grades I’ve received through my academic career (who would have expected a musician toting the positives of marijuana would inspire me to be a better student?). Currently I’m listening to a song called No Woman No Cry, it shuts almost everything else down while it is on. I breathe more easily, my mind clears up and I am at peace. It is a simple song, Bob isn’t providing some answer to all of life’s problems, he is offering a temporary respite from one’s problems. As soon as the song is over, the world comes slowly trickling back in… but for a short seven minutes and nine seconds, I’m sitting with Bob on a dilapidated street in Kingston… just existing… just being. 

I recently rediscovered my love for the Avett Brothers. This is a great alt-bluegrass group that I found out about the summer of ‘07 at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. They play a high energy style and their concerts are more like punk rock concerts than one would expect. Last night, working at Common Grounds, a friend (also a co-worker) and I sang along to one of their albums while we were working, it was maybe the most fun I’ve had while working. It made working on a Saturday afternoon a whole lot more fun that it should have been. Everybody should come on down to Waco and I’ll make you a cowboy coffee… the sing along is free. 

I’m sitting in one of my last couple Extreme Deviance classes right now. Last night I was up until 4:00 a.m. writing the last Historiographical essay I will ever have to write. I am supposed to turn it in at 2:00 p.m. Today is a really big deal, I finally feel like my college career is coming to a close. The reality of the situation is become more than just some abstract thought. Today is a big day… 

I’m having a crummy afternoon. I’ve realized that I am still missing a lot of my friends’ numbers, so I cannot get in touch with most of them. I have hours and hours ahead of me with absolutely nothing to do, and I’m really craving some good human interaction. It is rainy outside, which just adds to my malaise at this moment. I’m a big ball of conflict right now. The weather makes me want to go to bed and not wake up until tomorrow, but I really want to be with people… I’m a mess

I’m so incredibly close to finishing… school that is. Well, at least undergrad. I have just two papers and a couple of tests between me and that long sought after piece of sheepskin. There have been dozens of movies that have mapped this scenario, it seems that young Hollywood has been cutting its teeth on these bubble gum teeny bopper movies for the last 20 years.

My college experience has been much different than pretty much anything I’ve seen on the silver screen. I didn’t party for three and a half years only to realize in my last semester that I actually have to enroll in the classes I want credit for. I didn’t join a fraternity and haze pledges while drinking a keg of fratty light by myself. I didn’t sleep around or even date just for fun.

No, my collegiate experience would be less like a Tara Reid/Ryan Reynolds movie and much more like a grainy documentary you would see at Sundance. It wouldn’t need special effects, just some cliched commentary and Indie music. It might win some awards in that kind of setting. An unusual kid that doesn’t really fit into the mold breaks free and becomes his own man. This is the kind of story that one would find in a classic American novel. You know the ones I’m talking about… the ones you never finished Junior year of high school because they were too boring to keep you awake at night and your teacher made you cite 42 instances of dramatic irony in chapter 4. 

My life would be another Hemingway, Steinbeck or Salinger novel that you keep on your shelf because it makes you seem deeper or more learned than your friends. I love where I’ve been and where I’m going… I’m fine without the glitz and glamour… I’m glad that my life is void of cartoony covers or page turning antics… I love where God has taken me.

About ten minutes ago I realized that I was in a very unusual state. In fact, it was quite disconcerting. I was in the unfortunate place known as “musical purgatory”, in which one cannot figure out what kind of music to listen to. This may be due to the fact that I haven’t had enough to eat today combined with an over-consumption of coffee and a general lack of sleep. So, in short, I was just in a nasty funk. Lo and behold… a solution has been found! No, I did not get food to eat, nor did I take a nap… I searched one more time through my iTunes library! I was becoming discouraged once again, when a magical name happened to cross my screen… Bob Marley. There are few musicians that I could listen to no matter what my mood is… and ol’ Bobby is most certainly one of those. His music has the ability to completely turn my attitude around. Most of the time I choose my music based upon my mood, but Bob is able to transcend my predisposition. So, I offer up a toast to a good man… Kings to Bob.

I love the idea of Grape Soda. It is one of those things in my life that reminds me of when I was young. Oh to be six years old drinking a grape soda and eating a Happy Meal… those were the days. What is really unfortunate about this whole situation is that I do not now nor have I ever really enjoyed Grape Soda. I am maybe the biggest proponent of Orange Soda I know… but the Grape always disappoints. There are a few things in life that do this, but I think Grape Soda is the most consistent. I am in the middle of researching for a couple different papers and I just got one from the vending machine, and I have to admit that I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would… maybe I’m finally growing into it.